paul noto

Atty, Die hard Packer and NY Rangers fan. Former Mayor and legislator.

[paul noto @paulnoto5]

@Gaiven33 @TunedIntoTennis She is bad for the sport. Terrible attitude.

[paul noto @paulnoto5]

@tuckahoetommy @Martina Almost 80

[Senator Thom Tillis @SenThomTillis]

General Chris Donahue has spent his career leading from the front, earning the respect of Soldiers, Allies, and senior leaders across the Joint Force. Secretary Hegseth’s decision to force him out says far more about Hegseth than it does about General Donahue.

This is yet another unforced error from a Secretary leading the Pentagon with bro-culture bravado rather than restraint, humility and careful stewardship of the finest fighting force in the world.

Strong leaders are not threatened by accomplished commanders. Weak ones are. His paranoid micromanagement of senior military leaders and promotion lists is pure insecurity dressed up as reform. He is more interested in purging people he perceives as insufficiently loyal than empowering proven patriots who can actually lead.

This is not reinvigorating the warrior ethos. This is not a leader prioritizing merit. It’s sophomoric. It’s unserious. And it’s bringing great harm to our Department of Defense. Our military deserves steady, serious civilian leadership. Right now, it’s getting the opposite.
https://t.co/iybWH5jMpW

[paul noto @paulnoto5]

@USAmbUN @LaraLeaTrump U are delusional. This deal leaves Iran stronger and the US weaker.

[paul noto @paulnoto5]

@SecScottBessent @realDonaldTrump @VP Sounds a lot like the Obama agreement.

[paul noto @paulnoto5]

@RpsAgainstTrump Bessent is really an asshole. Guy has no class.

[paul noto @paulnoto5]

@realKTMcFarland U r kidding right?

[paul noto @paulnoto5]

@realKTMcFarland @Varneyco It’s worse than the Obama deal.

[Antony Blinken @ABlinken]

Thoughts on the “Ceasefire” with Iran:

President Trump should share the ceasefire agreement with the American people.  They deserve to see it and draw their own conclusions about the results of the president’s war. Just as they should have been informed before he launched it.

From what’s been reported, it’s a bad deal to end a misguided war of President Trump’s choosing. The only thing worse would be to continue the war that has proven so costly in lives lost — including U.S. service members — and taxpayer dollars spent without making the American people safer or their lives better.

By President Trump’s own terms, the war is a failure.

The Iranian regime is intact and its military wing more empowered, while the Iranian people are more impoverished, repressed and desperate.

Iran apparently retains a significant supply of missiles and drones and the productive capacity to make more. It has renewed links to lethal proxies in Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen and elsewhere. The ceasefire agreement seems to be silent about these issues

The attempt to “re-obliterate” Iran’s nuclear program — which President Trump claimed to have wiped out last year — failed. Iran still has the highly enriched uranium it had produced before the war started, along with centrifuges to spin the uranium into weapons-grade material. Maybe that will be addressed in the negotiations that are supposed to start this week. But at what price in terms of sanctions relief and assets unfrozen? At best, we’ll get back to something that looks like the JCPOA — the nuclear deal negotiated by President Obama without going to war that put Iran’s nuclear program in a box. President Trump tore up the JCPOA in 2018 and then failed to replace it. There’s reason to doubt we will come away with anything as strong as the JCPOA — which took two years to negotiate in partnership with all the major powers — in 60 days, playing a far weaker hand. And by the way, if the president tries to claim credit for Iran renouncing nuclear weapons as part of any agreement, look no further than the very first paragraph of the JCPOA, which contains the same pledge.

The only “achievement” of the ceasefire is the likely re-opening the Strait of Hormuz — which was open before the war started. And we will apparently pay Iran to do so, in the form of waivers for the export of Iranian crude oil. Iran has now demonstrated the capacity to stop or slow the passage of oil, natural gas, fertilizer and other critical products upon which so much of the world depend. Going forward, it will almost certainly find ways to collect “fees” for safe passage that will help entrench the regime.

Don’t expect a return to normal any time soon, if at all. Crude oil prices will drop from the record highs they reached — but they’re unlikely to fall to pre-war levels. We will all pay for a sustained inflationary effect. It will take time to restart oil and gas production, repair infrastructure, refill dangerously depleted stockpiles, clear mines, and restore confidence. Just as it will take a lot of time to replenish our own supply of offensive and defensive missiles, to the detriment of our deterrent in other parts of the world.

Maybe the only positive development is the world’s renewed focus on renewable energy as a way to break the stranglehold of the Strait. But China will be the big winner as the world’s leader in wind, solar, EV’s and batteries — further expanding its influence — while the Trump administration is paying wind farms to shut down and gutting incentives to make us more competitive in EVs. (I just returned from Norway, where more than 90 percent of the new cars sold last year were full EV’s. Norway may be ahead of the curve, but we’re driving right off the road).

Meanwhile, the administration achieved a terrible trifecta of alienating our partners in Europe (insulted and threatened for two years, not consulted on the war and then lambasted for not helping bail us out), Asia (which bore the greatest impact of high energy prices and rising scarcity) and the Middle East (the primary target of Iranian retaliation), while diminishing our standing and credibility everywhere.

Most of all, President Trump’s war of choice has failed the ultimate foreign policy test: it has failed to make the American people better off. At a time when more and more American families are struggling to make ends meet, this war has made filling everything from the gas tank to the grocery cart to medical prescriptions harder and more expensive.

We should all be glad the war is over — for now. No doubt President Trump will claim credit for ending it. But that’s like an arsonist boasting about putting out a fire he started after half the house has been burnt down.

[paul noto @paulnoto5]

@HowardKurtz He called for unconditional surrender. We thought he meant Iran. Little did we know it was us.

[Tom Nichols @RadioFreeTom]

This war will be taught at War Colleges (assuming they still exist) and strategic studies programs for years to come as *the* case study in how operational successes do not lead to strategic victory.

[paul noto @paulnoto5]

@JackPosobiec U r kidding. It’s an epic failure.

[U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. @SenBillCassidy]

Reagan is rolling over in his grave. Iran’s nuclear ambitions were not curbed, and they have learned that threatening the Strait of Hormuz works and will undoubtedly leverage it in the future. Now, Iran gets to build brand-new infrastructure under this deal.

Before the war, the strait was open, Iran was being crushed by sanctions, and 13 service members were still alive. Now, 13 Americans are dead, families have paid billions at the pump, sanctions will be lifted, and the bombing has stopped. This is the worst foreign policy blunder in decades.

[paul noto @paulnoto5]

@newtgingrich He surrendered. Iran won and is stronger now Than before. It was an epic failure. U know that. U can’t spin this as some kind of victory.

[paul noto @paulnoto5]

@GeraldoRivera Who cares?

[paul noto @paulnoto5]

@BillKristol Laughable.

[paul noto @paulnoto5]

@RepLuna Unlikely. Worse than the Obama deal. Trump got rolled again.

[paul noto @paulnoto5]

@USAmbUN @POTUS Are u kidding ? This is a horrible deal.

[paul noto @paulnoto5]

@NTenzer Embarrassing. Russia is a terrorist state in violation of the UN Charter led by a war criminal. Why are we congratulating them? It’s sad.

[paul noto @paulnoto5]

@mccaffreyr3 @BillKristol The racism is unbelievable and
Despicable